Various computer accessories, e.g. a mouse and a keyboard, require manual operation. Computer users with hand disabilities, such as hand paralysis, cannot use such accessories. Various solutions exist, requiring various levels of interaction by the user, and various levels of computing resources.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,210 discloses a contact lens video display system. A visual display in the form of a liquid crystal display (LCD) along with supporting circuitry, battery, and an antenna is formed into a contact lens, and the contact lenses are worn on the eyes covering the field of view. Eyeglass frames, connected to a data source which sends video data to the antenna, may support the contact lenses as well as eye movement sensors for sensing eyeball movement and direction of the movement. The image displayed on the LCD is changed in response to eye movements and eyelid blinking.
This system however, like similar systems, detects the user's line of sight by processing images of the user's eyes. This is a complex processing task, which requires extensive processing resources. It would therefore be desirable to operate computer accessories in a hands-free fashion while using a noncomplex method for detecting a user's line of sight.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system for enabling hands-free operation of computer accessories that are normally hand-operated.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system for providing hands-free input to a computer.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a system for detecting a user's line of sight without having to process images of the user's eyes.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.